User blog:Guardian Fira/Fighters Unite! Chapter 10: Blackout
The crowd was roaring with excitement. It was currently the last fight of the first half of the first round. The two teams currently fighting were Team Burst, consisting of Sorin, Fira and Yuki. The second team was Team Unknown, made up of Roxas, Samuel and Tengu. The last two fights had them all fired up. The first fight was Fira Vs Roxas, a fight which, after a difficult struggle and a lucky draw, Fira won. The second fight showed Yuki Vs Samuel, a Danger World User. Yuki held her ground and almost defeated Samuel, however he managed to pull through with a Phoenix Wall and defeated Yuki the very next turn. This brought the teams to an equal score of 1-1, with the last match deciding the game. As Sorin was the last fighter for Team Burst, he stepped out onto the field. He didn't feel too nervous, he was used to being the one to bring things back into his favour. He had his mind on other things however, what Michi had told him echoed in his head, 'According to information we recieved back at the office, a certain Fighter here is not who they say they are. We have reason to believe they're using this tournament as a cover to recruit new members into a organization or some sort, but we don't know anything beyond that'. Sorin had his suspicions about Tengu, his opponent who was dressed similar to a card known as Blood Knife, Kimensai, with the mask a dark red colour, with blue lines covering it. Sorin looked back into the booth where the rest of his team sat. Yuki was sat on a cushion, looking upset, but trying to put on a brave face to not make her team upset. Fira was sat next to her, comforting her. Sorin could only smile and chuckle a little as he turned back to the arena. He had known about Fira's nuturing personality nature for a while. Although, living with Serena, Ruby and Leo, he had to be the father figure. He remembered how Ruby was attending a new school and thought back to when Leo went to a new school. Fira and Serena were quite worried when he left, but grew used to it and eventually stopped panicking. Sorin brought his head back to the present and watched as Tengu stepped out of his team booth and made his way to the fighting stage. Sorin could feel a slight chill as he looked at his mask, and how it looked back at him, emotionless eyes fixing on his. He stepped onto the fighting platform, and so did Sorin. Sorin pulled out his Core Deck Case and allowed Ocker to form next to him. Ocker landed in a crouching position, and stood up. He started staring at Tengu, who stared back. Ocker was a little confused but then gasped. Tengu lifted his arm and clicked his fingers, and the stadium went dark. Sorin looked around, hoping to be able to see a light source or something, as the audience started to panic and screamed. "Ocker, are you still there?", Sorin asked. "Yeah, I'm here" Ocker replied. Sorin tried to see over to Tengu's side, and could just make out the platform. He squinted his eyes, trying to focus on Tengu, only to see he wasnt there. Sorin was feeling freaked out, and then, a voice over his shoulder said, "It's coming, join it while you can". The lights to the Stadium came on, showing the arena, the audience stands and the inside of the booths. Sorin looked behind him, trying to find where the voice came from. No one was stood behind him, but Ocker was still next to him, "You ok, Sorin?", he asked. Sorin, a little disoriented from the voice, looked back at him and nodded, "Y-Yeah I'm ok, what about you?". Ocker nodded back, and an announcement came over the speakers, "Attention please, we are expierencing techical difficulties right now, and unfortunatly, we are using our backup power. The backup can't support the lighting and the fight stage at the same time, so we're going to be taking an unexpected interval, just to get it all working again, sorry folks". Sorin, looking up towards a speaker to listen, looked back towards Tengu's platform, and his eye's widened. Tengu wasn't there. Sorin left the arena and walked back into the booth. Yuki was a little teary eyed, brought on by the stress of the situation and her loss. Fira was still trying to comfort her, with little success. Sorin walked straight past them though and out the door. Ocker stayed in the booth, not wanting to disturb Sorin when he was in thought. He knew what he was like when he was busy with something. Ocker looked over at Yuki, on the brink of crying and Fira, doing his best to cheer her up. Ocker had known Fira for a long time, and could recognize when his fatherly instinct was kicking in. He had to have one looking after Ruby and Leo. Ocker looked back at the door, thinking to himself, 'Sorin, just be careful and hurry back'. Sorin looked left and right, trying to find something, not even he knew what he was looking for. He ran down the hall on the left, not slowing down for anything. Chain and Team Stardust were still in the cafe at the time of the blackout. Serena had panicked during it and knocked over a few chairs, while Berith sat perfectly still throughout it, using the light of his laptop to keep focused. Chain, on the other hand, was so busy eating he didnt even pay attention to it. He saw the lights get darker, but that was about it. The lights came on not long afterwards, and Serena realized the mess she made of the cafe. It wasnt bad, but a LOT of chairs had been tipped over. Berith was amazed she knocked that many over, even ones near the door where it was lighter. However, she had sat down now, breathing a little heavy. "Heeeeeyy, you guys", A voice from the door shouted. Berith turned around to see Arthur Mirai, a member of Team Heart stood at the door, along with the rest of his team behind him, observing the mess. Arthur hopped over the chairs to the table Team Stardust was sat at, as the rest of Team Heart, followed by Pan, slowly moved through the mess. Arthur was in a rather giddy mood as he spoke, "I saw both of your matches, I was quite impressed with you Berith, you too Serena". Arthur stared at Berith a little before looking Serena, only for a short time. He produced a wrapped sweet out of his pocket and handed it to Berith, "Take it, It's caramel". Berith immediatly unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. Serena, a little upset, asked, "What about me?". Arthur turned back to her and produced another wrapped sweet, "Oh sorry, I tend to forget when I'm happy". Serena accepted the sweet and placed it into her pocket for later. The rest of Team Heart had finally got to the table, and Daichi started to speak, "You guys did pretty good out there. A 2-0 victory to start the tournament is just the competition we're looking for, a shame the second matches didn't go so smoothly. Arthur was in the stands when the blackout occured". Arthur stared upwards, lost in his own world, muttering to himself, "I was enjoying all the fights". He then looked back at the table, a little upset, "But then the lights went out, and I couldnt see any of the fighters or monsters, so I came out to get some food". Sorin had run out of breath from running. He still didnt know what he was running for, but liked to believe he had a reason. He was currently in the main lobby. He looked around, trying to find something, anything to sort his head out. "Heeeeeyy, you guys", Sorin heard. He looked over towards the cafe, to see a group of boys and a girl walking into the cafe. The first boy, who had spoken, hopped into the cafe while the others walked over, carefully. Sorin followed the group towards the cafe and stood near the door. He could see Chain and his team sat at a table, with the first boy handing Berith a sweet. The rest of the group got to the table and one of the other boys started to speak, "You guys did pretty good out there. A 2-0 victory to start the tournament is just the competition we're looking for, a shame the second matches didn't go so smoothly. Arthur was in the stands when the blackout occured". Sorin then had a thought. If only that Arthur character was in the stands at the time of the blackout, where was the rest of the group?. He turned away from the cafe, with a new objective. He would try to find out who caused he blackout. Although he just thought it was Tengu's doing. Sorin saw someone burst through the entrance of the Stadium, on the phone with someone. The boy looked like GX, but a little different. He was wearing a dark green shirt along with black jeans and black sneakers, though his hair was what confused Sorin. It was stuck up in the same way as GX, except it was white and green. Sorin could hear him speaking on the phone, "not gonna get it up for a while, so move quickly..........No NOW!......I'll meet you near the entrance, but hurry up!". The boy hung up his mobile and put it in his pocket. Sorin could tell something was up with him, and decided to stick around to see where this would go, and who he was meeting. After about 2 minutes of waiting, the boy finally met with who he was speaking to, GX. Sorin was a little surprised by this, not expecting GX to have a brother, let alone anyone who looked like him. GX looked quite sullen and depressed, while the boy looked rather angry, asking GX, "THERE you are, where were you?". GX looked down towards the floor as the boy shouted, and replied, "I was in the stands, it's harder to get back out when people are panicking, give me a break Aiden". Sorin now knew the boys name, and Aiden started to speak again, "I don't care for your excuses, we got work to do, now come on". Aiden grabbed GX by the wrist and pulled him towards the entrance. GX then pulled away and spoke, "I can walk myself, don't pull me like a child". GX walked next to Aiden as they both walked out of the door, GX still looking depressed. Sorin attempted to follow them outside after they had left, when a buzzer went off as he got to the door. A woman at the main desk then looked at him and explained, "Oh, I'm sorry, but are you a team member who's fight was interupted just now? If you are, then the doors are programmed not to allow those who's match is in progress leave, so no forfeits are declared unintentionally. I'm sorry, but until your match is over, your team won't be able to leave". The woman bowed at Sorin, obviously feeling guilty at having to point that out to him. Sorin watched GX and Aiden walk round the Stadium building and out of his view, annoyed by how he was trapped. Sorin started to walk back to his booth from the lobby. The rules about leaving the Stadium still applied, even for a backup power system. He walked past the cafe, where Team Stardust and Team Heart were still talking, and laughing from the looks of it. Sorin thought back to when the last time he laughed like that. His head took him back years ago, though Sorin can't remember how far back exactly. He could remember laughing really hard, with another boy in the room. He wasn't old enough to Buddyfight yet, as such, Ocker wasn't there. The next thing Sorin can remember, everyone was crying. He felt confused, and scared, and followed with the crowd, crying with them. Sorin snapped back into the present, realising he had been standing idly in the lobby, in front of the board which showed the team listings. He looked at his team name, then at his opponents. He couldnt help but shake the feeling that there was something odd about them. What Tengu said was still lingering in his mind, but it helped him answer the last question he had, who was trying to recruit fighters? Sorin noticed that the group that entered the cafe before had just left. The group we're still laughing, looking like they were having fun. The girl and one of the boys we're particularly close, with the girl wrapping herself around the boys arm as they walked. She lifted herself up a little to whisper into the boys ear, after which he nodded. The boy and girl then stopped walking and the boy called out to the other two boys, "Hey, me and Pan are going to sort out some shopping, we'll meet you guys back at our seats". With that, the boy and Pan turned around and walked away from the other boys, who simply smiled and continued walking in their direction, with one of them waving very pleasantly to the couple. Sorin watched as the couple walked away from their friends, and then turned, straight into another hallway. The hallway was rather dark, only be lit by the lights of the lobby. The girl pulled on the boy and said, in a quiet tone, "Hurry, we need to move". The couple ran into the hallway and vanished into the darkness. Sorin, curious to know more, ran after them. The corridor wasnt too long, and turned into another corridor that was lit up by the emergency power. Sorin quietly followed the couple as they ran through the corridors, eventually stopping in the middle of one corridor. Sorin stood at the edge of one of the corridors, keeping an eye on the couple. He looked around the corner to see the boy looking around the corridor, scanning every inch of the wall. Just then, the girl clutched her chest, and stumbled a little. She slowly started to drop to the floor, and the boy caught her as she fell. He laid her against the wall, allowing her to rest her head. He then stood up and said to her, "It's ok, you can drop it now, I cant see any cameras around here". Sorin immediatly pulled back into the corner, not wanting to believe what would happen. Just then, he noticed a shimmer of light on the corner of his shoe, coming from further down the corridor. He looked around the corner again to see the girl engulfed in a bright light. After a few seconds, the light shattered around the girl, revealing a different girl. This girl looked part mechanical, covered in what looked like clothes of royalty, revealing her to be Actor Knights, Empress. Sorin, feeling greatly reliefed by this turn, took a deep breath and turned the corner to confront the couple. "Well, this isn't something you see everyday", Sorin claimed as he walked towards the couple. The girl, being in no shape to react, simply looked at Sorin and then away. The boy however, started to panic, trying to speak, "Uh-W-well, yo-you see". Sorin raised his hand, requiring no explanations right now. He looked at the girl, now a Buddy Monster laid against the wall. She was looking really weak, like she couldnt even speak without running out of breath. Sorin felt that some questions needed to be answed, turned to the boy and asked, "So, whats the deal here?". The boy, still a little panicked, looked at the girl. She could still hardly move, and he knew that he couldnt keep hold of the secret now. He turned back to Sorin, and answered, "Well, my name is Daichi and this is Actor Knights, Empress. But she prefers to be called Pan. And she's my Buddy". Sorin was a little surprised to hear this. He had never heard of a Human and Buddy Monster being together in a romantic sense before, and never expected to, as the Buddy Laws prevented it. Daichi spoke again, "We have much stronger feelings for each other than simply being Buddies. But since the Buddy Laws prevent our relationship from advancing further, we have to keep it secret from everyone. In order to cope with it, Pan uses her powers to maintain a human form outside of fights, but as you may have seen, it drains the Monster of a lot of power". Sorin looked as the girl started to slowly move more often, signalling she was starting to get her energy back. He smiled and started to walk away, then stopped and looked back at Daichi, and said, "I don't see why this is a problem, so I won't go further or tell anyone about this, I promise". The boy, still a little panicked, managed to reply, "Thank you". Sorin walked away, the relationship of Daichi and Pan reminding him of a Buddy from long ago. Yuki and Fira were still sat in the booth, waiting for Sorin to come back. Yuki had calmed down from the most recent events, but Fira was walking around the room, continuesly circling the cushions Yuki was sat on. He had a concerned look on his face, and Yuki didnt like it, nor the speed he was walking around. Any faster and he would be jogging. Yuki knew that after what had happened, the last thing that either of them needed was more stress, and decided to speak, "Are you okay?". Fira stopped walking in front of Yuki and turned to her, "I'm just worried about Ruby". Yuki had heard Fira mention someone of that name and thought that she needed to ask, "Who's Ruby? I heard you and Serena talk about someone of that name earlier, but who is it?". Fira looked up and exhaled, unsure if he needed to tell her or not, but then looked back at her and smiled. He sat down next to her and leant back, using his hands to keep him sat up. "Ruby is my little sister", Fira said. Yuki was a little surprised, not realising that Fira had any family members after Serena. Of course, she didnt really ask about Fira much, so she wouldnt know. Yuki looked toward Fira and asked, "What's wrong with her?". Fira shook his head and replied, "Nothing, she was accepted into another school, so she's going to be going there, and me and Serena are just worried". Fira leaned forward and looked at the floor, "We're going to spend as much time as we can with her once the tournament is over, just to make sure she has a great time before she leaves". Yuki looked away from Fira, feeling it awkward to continue staring at him. She realised that she hadnt even asked Fira and Serena about their family life, nor anyone elses. She felt as though she knew nothing about her friends, or even herself sometimes. Sorin found his way back to the main Lobby, needing to get back to the booth. He had discovered more things about the other competitors in the space of 20 minutes than he did over a week. Sorin thought back to Daichi and Pan, thinking about the difficulties in their relationship. The Buddy Laws were made to ensure that Humans and Buddy Monsters could reach a new level of friendship, allowing them to trust each other and fight at a more focused level. In these laws however, existed a rule that prevented Humans and Buddy Monsters from becoming romantically involved, although it was never actually revealed why this was passed as a law. Just above Sorin, more lights started to flicker on and off, eventually lighting the entire lobby as an announcement came on over the intercom, "Attention everyone. The power is now back up to full capacity and the fight can now start again. Would the fighters currently in game please make their way back to the arena?". Sorin started to walk back to the arena when he heard noises, "Argh, No!". The sounds were coming from the direction outside the Stadium. Sorin ran over to the doors and saw a fight just finishing outside. Sorin could see Michi as one of the fighters, however the fight was over, and Michi fell to his knees, "GAME OVER. WINNER: RED SOUKEN". Sorin, noticing the name, looked past Michi and saw Red. He didnt seem like he was even fazed by the fight and started to walk back into the Stadium. He walked through the door, noticing Sorin. He continued to walk, not even glancing in Sorins direction. He did, however, say something to Sorin as he walked past, "I'm hoping you win your match". With that, he smiled and walked on, while Michi followed him shortly after. Sorin saw how bad Michi was feeling right now, and felt like something needed to be said. Of course, what he wanted to say, was not what he actually said, "Is he who your looking for?". Michi slowly shook his head, "No, Red was just someone who I needed to fight". Sorin had another thought cross his mind, one which he spoke, "Is he Tengu?". Michi paused for a moment, catching his breath from the fight. He stood up, adjusted his fedora and replied, "No, he isn't". Sorin and Michi started walking back to the booth, intending to fight Tengu. They were both really quiet while walking, with Michi hanging back a little. Sorin turned to him and said, "If I make you feel awkward, why not just leave?". Michi looked back up to Sorin and replied, "Sorry, I was just thinking. What was the point of this blackout?". Sorin hadnt actually thought about why the blackout could have occured, as he was more focused on finding out what caused it, to which he still had no answer. Out of nowhere, a small breeze blew past Sorin and Michi, which they both felt. Sorin and Michi both looked down the corridor, expecting to see a reason for the wind, but instead, they saw Tengu. He was stood at the very end of the corridor, looking toward them. His eyes, hidden by the mask, were focused directly on Sorin. Michi then gasped and ran for Tengu, who turned and ran in response. Sorin, flustered by the sudden movement, ran after them both. Sorin and Michi turned the corner in the corridor to find themselves at the back entrance to the Stadium, the door being wide open. Michi spoke quickly, still running for Tengu, "Sorin, help me, don't let him get away!". Michi jumped into the doorway, and Tengu stopped running for it. Sorin, who had finally caught up, asked Michi, "Why does it matter? He can't leave anyway. I tried earlier and couldnt because my match was still in progress". Michi, still blocking the doorway, replied, "Only the EMERGENCY power keeps fighters locked inside, its a system they introduced a while ago, but fighters complained about feeling trapped and a few sufferers of Claustrophobia panicked because of it. The system was removed from the mian power grid, but it was yet to be taken out of the emergency system". Sorin looked back towards Tengu, who was now looking at him. Tengu, who had been quiet all this time, stared straight at Sorin and asked, "Shall we begin?". Sorin looked around the area. It was rather spacious, definetly enough room to fight, as Sorin knew thats what he was referring to. Sorin moved back a few paces to make some more room, while Tengu did the same. Michi, still blocking the doorway, reached into his pocket and dug out his phone. He tapped on its screen a few times and pointed it towards the center of the field. The screen displayed the entire field, just showing Sorin and Tengu at the edges. Michi pressed a red button on the screen and it started recording. Sorin was confused by what Michi was doing, but his question was answered when he heard the announcer scream, "WOOOAAAHH, Ceck it out folks! We're having the fight between Sorin and Tengu broadcast to us from the back entrance of the Stadium, thanks to a clever tech boy it seems!". Sorin looked back at Michi, who shrugged and replied, "At least this way, your fight is official". Sorin and Tengu both looked at and stared at each other. Ocker formed outside of the Core Deck Case, while Tengus Buddy did not. Both players knew they needed no introductions or announcements to begin, and both yelled, "RAISE THE FLAG!!". Sorin luminized his Cored Deck and declared, "DUNGEON WORLD!". Tengu held his Case up and it morphed into the shape of a red fan, with what seemed like an inscription of some sorts painted onto it. He luminized his cards and faintly declared, "Katana World!". Category:Blog posts